Has it truly been 40 years since first we learned there’s no basement at the Alamo? Well, maybe all y’all in Texas knew that, but for a kiddo who hadn’t yet stepped outside Arizona state lines, this was a fact I only learned due to one Pee-wee Herman. The 1985 flick was a feature debut not only for leading star Pee-wee (his previous pop-up in Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie being much more minor) but also for director Tim Burton, fresh off short film “Frankenweenie.” Apparently, it was the late Texan Shelley Duvall whom Paul Reubens consulted with before choosing Burton as director! Wow! This Pollyanna-style riff follows Pee-wee in a quest to retrieve his stolen bike with escaped convicts, snotty rich kids, and the Cabazon Dinosaurs as just a few of the many figures he meets along the way. – James Scott
